Joel Embiid reveals he chased Ben Simmons to get his return to Sixers

Joel Embiid reveals he tried very hard to get Ben Simmons to return to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The saga surrounding Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers is finally over. After months and months of trying to get him to return while also trying to satisfy his request for a trade, the Sixers sent Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets for superstar James Harden.

After the deal was over, Simmons said that he didn’t speak to Joel Embiid. The two of them led the Sixers for four seasons to try and get the franchise to the top of the NBA, but they weren’t able to get it done. The two of them may have been an awkward fit on the court at times, but there was never any evidence of animosity or anything like that towards each other.

Embiid sat down with ESPN’s Malika Andrews and he revealed that he did, in fact, try to get Simmons to return to the Sixers before the deal:

Before the trade deadline. He’s a great player and I think whatever he’s gonna add to Brooklyn is going to take them another level, too. I did a lot of chasing around. Try to get him back and try to make him feel comfortable again. It was tough. I didn’t care anymore.

Embiid did express disappointment in the past that he and Simmons did not work out. It is clear that the big fella did everything he could to try and get Simmons to return, but obviously, Simmons didn’t want to.

At this point, Simmons seems to be happier in Brooklyn in his new situation and Embiid and the Sixers are happy to move forward with Harden. Now, both sides will look to move on with their new franchise stars.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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